Sexy News from the World of Archaeology for 22 June 2009

Sexy Archaeology loves Florida… sun, sand, and surf. Now we can add long forgotten cemeteries to the list. Work crews digging near I-95 stumbled upon wrist bones, a human skull, skeletons of two small children, crumbled headstones, and metal coffin handles last week. The big question is how did this cemetery manage to vanish from history? Archaeologists are now working with local historians to solve the riddle of this forgotten cemetery. Link.

It sometimes seems as though you can’t walk ten feet in England without stumbling upon some sort of historical site and hey, we aren’t complaining! In recent weeks, strange, crop circle-like formations were spotted during an aerial survey by English Heritage. Turns out the strange circles were actually part of a huge prehistoric ceremonial complex in southern England. The central features are two great tombs topped by massive mounds called long barrows. The larger of the two tombs is 70 meters long and estimates put the tombs at 6,000 years old! Such oblong burial mounds are very rare finds. It’ll be interesting to see what turns up. Link.

Crime doesn’t pay. Its sad to think that people will steal from history in order to fund their own personal agendas. This week, several stories of looting were brought into the public realm. First, 1,500 stolen artifacts seized at London’s Heathrow airport have been returned to Afghanistan. Among the recovered treasures were a magnificent tall bronze bird, prehistoric tools – up to 6,000 years old – and ancient coins, as well as more recent Islamic tiles, inscribed basins and bronze candlesticks. The Salt Lake City Tribune reported 24 people were charged with trafficking and stealing Native American artifacts. Another article from the same publication explored the link between stolen artifacts and the methamphetamine trade. All the stories are worth looking into.

And finally, it appears as though the infamous Dr. Jones is still in the game. Frank Marshall confirmed this week that work is progressing on the fifth Indiana Jones film. Though no timeline was specified its safe to say that its either going to be in the next two years, or not at all. Let’s all hope that this new edition helps us to forget about the disaster that was The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Link.

That’s all for now!

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